The Church of England have issued clear guidelines on how we should all be behaving and what we should be doing in terms of hygiene around the church building and each other – clergy and parishioners alike.
Please be vigilant, do your bit and ensure others are following the same instructions, to help keep everyone as safe s we possible can.
Here is the advice, copied below: https://www.churchofengland.org/more/media-centre/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-churches#na
Last updated 17 March 2020 at 10:30
We are examining the latest advice from the Government and Public Health England and will update this page as soon as possible.
- If you have health concerns and for the latest health advice, please visit the NHS website.
- For the latest Government advice and action plan, please visit GOV.UK.
Digital resources
Documents
All churches are encouraged to review and complete a Continuity Plan to ensure, as far as possible, their continued mission and ministry:
Online
Last updated: Monday 16 March 2020
This section outlines the resources that are currently available and new content that will be published in the days and weeks ahead for all to use at this time.
What is currently available?
There are a range of Christian resources already available:
- #LiveLent: Care for God’s Creation – The Church of England’s Lent campaign for 2020. With weekly themes shaped around the first Genesis account of creation, it explores the urgent need for humans to value and protect the abundance God has created. This daily audio content is available via the app and daily emails. Sign up here
The BBC’s Daily Service and Sunday Worship radio programmes will be using some of the themes from #LiveLent as part of their broadcasts. Find out more online. - Prayer for the day – each day the Church of England publishes audio and text of the Prayer for the Day
- Smart speakers – daily prayer and #LiveLent audio content can be accessed via our smart speaker apps. Enable our smart speaker app
- Live streaming services – users can watch live streams of services from a range of churches and we will be improving AChurchNearYou.com in the days ahead to make this clearer (more details below).
Read a blog which outlines how a church can inexpensively stream a sermon, service, event or thought for the day from the vicar or member of the church in situations where people are unable to attend church.
What will we be developed in the weeks ahead?
In the days and weeks ahead we will be significantly expanding our output:
- Simple daytime prayer and night prayer service – building on the existing daily prayer feed, we will record audio to accompany daytime prayer and night prayer per day, which will be available via an updated app and accompanying podcasts.
- More video content – this will include video services and more content for Holy Week and Easter. In addition, we will make Holy Week audio content available.
- Using AChurchNearYou.com to signpost those churches that are livestreaming services and events. Churches need to add the ‘Livestream’ tag to their services and events that will be broadcast. Remember to add into the description how people can watch this. You can add a link to the platform you’re using to stream, such as your Facebook page or YouTube channel. Find out more about live streaming services and events here.
- Mental health reflections – daily reflections to help people, especially at a time when they are feeling lonely, isolated or anxious
- Increasing the number of webinars to help churches stream sermons, events and make the most of social media.
Alongside the use of audio, app, smart speakers and social media, one of the main principles we are working to is to make as much as possible available in simple downloadable and printable formats for those who can’t easily access the technology.
This section will be updated when new resources become available.
Prayer and liturgy
This page contains prayers and intercessions for personal or group use, special prayers for use if it isn’t possible to meet in church, and a simple form of prayer for the morning and evening, which can be downloaded, printed, and shared with those remaining at home or who are unable to access the Internet.
These resources are offered to help those who are struggling to find words at this difficult and stressful time, and to enable Christians to worship in solidarity with one another even if it is not possible to gather in church.